A Tragedy at Hand
by wazzy593
Summary: Cat had always felt resentment that Dog was his brother, and often longed to be detached from him. Cat could get his wish, but can he pay the heavy price? This is something that could very easily haunt him forever.
1. The Accident

Hey everybody! I'm back :D I haven't written in soo long, and I apologize. I'm into CatDog now, so I figured I'd give it a shot ;)

*Disclaimer* I do not own CatDog.

"A Tragedy At Hand"

It was a hot, sunny day in Nearburg, and CatDog was hanging around outside enjoying the summer weather. Cat was lounging in his yellow, fold-up lawn chair that was modified to have bicycle wheels attached to the sides and an umbrella attached, while Dog was splashing around in a kiddy-pool; and in the process, splashing Cat and annoying him further than he already was. Cat tried to divert his attention from his hyped-up K9 brother of his by reading a book about the history of cats in America, but his efforts were thwarted when Dog splashed his book, causing the ink to run on the pages. Cat was red with anger by this point, not wanting anything to do with his brother and his shenanigans.

Cat was always resentful that he was attached to Dog. Why couldn't it be different? Why did this situation so complex and difficult? Why couldn't they just be a normal cat and dog? Everywhere that Cat went, Dog had to go to. Cat had tried to even join a cat club, but that went down the tubes simply because of Dog being at his side. Why couldn't he get his way just once? Why did he have to spend the rest of his life attached to someone who he had absolutely nothing in common with? He just didn't understand why he had to suffer this so much. Granted, he loved Dog-he was his brother. However, on most days, he just wanted to be left alone and away from this mangy mutt.

Dog had finally stopped splashing, and took a glance over at Cat, who seemed lost in thought. Dog had a puzzled look on his face, and wanted to know what was eating away at his brother. He climbed out of the kiddy-pool, and shook his body violently to dry himself off. He perked up his ears and walked over to Cat, to see what the matter was.

Dog broke the silence by asking innocently, "Hey Cat, what's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing Dog, just…nothing…"

"Cat, I know something's eating at you. Now, you can either tell me now, or I can splash you until you do!" Along with saying this, Dog laughed his famous gasping laugh that Cat so often loathed to hear.

"Dog, if you splash me, so help me I will drown you!"

"Then you'd better tell me while I still feel kinda nice."

Cat's patience was wearing very thin, and Dog was slicing whatever shred of it he had left in half.

"Fine, Dog. You wanna know what's wrong? Do you?!"

Dog was shriveled up against the ground at his brother's harsh, scary tone. He didn't know whether or not to ask or to shut up; so he took the chance.

"Wha-what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong! Every day I'm stuck to an annoying, hyper, pain-in-the-ass mutt of a dog, while I try to live the life I want to lead! But NOOO, that's not possible!"

Dog's eyes were tearing up.

Cat sighed briefly, then, re-filled with rage against his brother, he started up again, "You know what I wish, dog? You want to know?!"

Dog pushed through the lump in his throat, and asked the terrifying question, "What, Cat? ***sniffle*** what do you wish?"

"I wish that you would just somehow be separated from me, so that I could live my own damn life! I want to know that whenever I go somewhere, there won't be an annoying, crazy, impulsive dog ruining my life!"

Dog at this point couldn't hold back his tears, and let them flow. He was heartbroken at the thought that this is how his brother felt about him, after all that they had been through together. He loved Cat with all of his heart, and now he felt as if Cat just spat in his face. He didn't know what to do, so he just let the tears flow.

Dog didn't know what to say, so he just muttered, "I'm sorry, Cat…"

Cat just shrugged and threw a tennis ball out of anger, "Now, go fetch and get the hell out of my sight!"

Dog reluctantly complied with a shuddery, "Okay…" Sniffling, Dog went to slowly get the ball. However, upon obtaining the ball in his paws, he just slouched down in the middle of the road and let his emotions flow. He was sobbing as he lay in complete sorrow on the ground clutching the tennis ball in his paws ever so tightly. He thought about what a burden Cat labeled him as. As he did this however, he heard the sound of what he thought was a truck's horn, and looked up. He had no time to run, or he would have. He had no time to react, except for a sudden shriek of terror. And in that moment, Cat realized what had just happened.

Dog had been hit.


	2. The Surgery

Hey guys and gals. Sorry if the first chapter was kind of short, I was kinda just laying the foundation. It should be a little longer and more detailed for the next few chapters, if the story goes that way. :D Please Read and Review! :D and thank you!

By the way, I don't own Catdog.

Cat looked up from his lawn/wheel chair, and was completely shocked. He couldn't believe what just happened, and after all he had just said, or rather yelled, to Dog. He couldn't believe that after everything that just transpired, this is what happened next. He really didn't know how to react; of course, there was the expected amount of shock and sorrow. However, there was almost something else. An emotion appeared in Cat's heart that bothered Cat to his very soul; relief. The possibility that Cat could be alone forever entered into his mind, and he was entertaining thought after thought of what would happen if Dog left him for the big fire hydrant in the sky. He quickly corrected himself by slapping his cheek, as if to wake himself up from a bad dream. He shook his head, and ran over to where Dog was laying.

Dog was lying still as a rock in the dirt when Cat rushed to him. He picked Dog up by his arms and cried out to the truck driver to call an ambulance, and the driver complied. Dog was unconscious and bleeding badly. Cat noticed where there were a few crushed ribs, and possibly a punctured lung. It almost seems that Dog tried opening his eyes for a few seconds, but quickly gave up. With a tiny whimper, Dog passed out again. Cat was beginning to cry at this point, and didn't know what to say or feel; so many thoughts were swirling around in his head. All he knew was that his brother was hurt bad, and something needed to be done soon, or he wasn't going to have much of a chance.

Cat sat with Dog next to his side the whole ride to the hospital, keeping his paw on Dog's to make sure that there was still a pulse. Dog briefly opened his eyes, and looked around, and made a mutter of something that Cat hadn't heard in a long time, "Cat…Cat… I'm scared"

Cat felt a lump in his throat, "Yes Dog, I know you are…so am I."

Dog was feeling sad, and still feeling sorry for what he felt he put his brother through earlier. With a sorrowful heart, he looked up at Cat and said, "Cat, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, Dog?"

"I'm sorry that I cause you so much grief. I know that you must wish you had your own life, and I know I'm a pain…that's why I'm sorry, because I know that you think I'm a pain…"

Cat couldn't help but choke up and cry, and said through tearful eyes, "Dog, you're not a pain; I only said those things because I was angry! I wasn't thinking clearly! I'm so sorry that this happened, I'm the one who's sorry, Dog!"

Dog had always had a special place for Cat in his heart, and was always so quick to forgive him. He forgave him when he ate his pet fish, and for when he tried to eat Winslow. He even forgave him for lying to him about there being a leash law; and there was no stopping him from forgiving him now.

Dog looked up weakly and said, "Cat, it'll be okay. I understand." With that last thought, Dog fell unconscious again.

Cat was feeling more horrible than he had ever thought before. He felt the ambulance come to a halt, and the doors quickly swung open. They carried Dog to the emergency room, and he was quickly rushed into surgery right away. After Cat had filled out all the forms, and waited for what seemed to be forever, Rancid Rabbit came out into the area they had sectioned off for Cat to wait in, since he couldn't really go too far. Cat looked up with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, eager to hear about what had happened to his beloved brother, and best friend of many years.

The rabbit looked pitiful, and for the first time actually felt bad for Cat being in misery, given the unfortunate circumstances. He started off, "Uh, Cat? I need to speak with you, it's pretty urgent."

"Yes, please, what is it? Is Dog going to be okay? Dog has to be okay, he just has to!"

"Cat, I'm afraid I have some bad news. When Dog was hit by that truck, not only did he suffer from 3 broken ribs, but one of his lungs was punctured, and a kidney got crushed."

"Well, can't you just take one of mine and give it to him?"

"I'm afraid that's not all. There is also the fact that he's also lost a lot of blood, making the recovery process even more questionable. It doesn't look good, Cat. No, it doesn't look good at all."

Cat thought back to everything that had happened that day before the events took place; all the rage, the hatred, and the hard-hearted words that Cat said that could never be taken back. He was sure that even in Dog's unconscious state of mind, he was thinking about what Cat said; and Cat was sure that that didn't help dog feel any better at all on top of all of this.

Cat shook his head in disappointment in himself, and looked up at Rancid. He scrunched his eyebrows and asked solemnly, "So, what to you propose to do?"

Rancid knew that this question would come up eventually, and sighed a sigh that troubled his soul. He actually sat down on the floor cross-legged to be at eye-level with Cat. He took Cat by his shoulders and said in a regretful tone:

"We're going to have to put him down".


	3. The Aftermath

Hey guys and gals. Well, here it is: the final chapter. I hope you all have enjoyed this, and I hope that you will Read and Review it, thanks for your support. I don't own catdog, lol XD

Cat had been pondering what Rancid had said. Put Dog down? How would that even be possible? Cat had been with Dog since birth, and the thought of putting him down was unthinkable. There had to be another way, there just had to be.

Cat pleaded with Rancid, "Please, isn't there another way? There has to be! I mean, come on! You're all doctors, there has to be something you can do! I can't live without Dog! He's my brother! My best friend! I love him!"

"I'm sorry, but there's really nothing left that we can do. We tried and tried, and we had to face the music, just like you have to. I mean, think about it. Would you rather have Dog live as a vegetable for the rest of his life, or would you rather let him be at peace?"

Cat knew very well what had to be done, but just felt so awful about it. He loves Dog, and he hates what he had said earlier to him, and hates the thought of Dog leaving the world remembering what he had said to him earlier that fateful day. If anything else, Cat would have to speak to Dog before it happened.

Rancid continued to speak with cat about the procedure that needs to take place. He informed Cat that the procedure would simply be a separation of their bodies, then a lethal injection for Dog. Cat choked up at hearing those last few words, knowing that this was the end of Dog's life. With sorrow and mourning burning in his spirit, Cat looked up and solemnly nodded. Rancid left the room, leaving Cat to say his final goodbyes.

Cat went up to the hospital bed where Dog was laying, knowing that after this the next time he would see Dog is before he'd be dead. Cat was crying, and needed to speak with Dog, unsure if he would actually hear him.

He slowly kneeled next to him and started off, "Hey, Dog. I don't know if you can hear me, or even understand what I'm saying. Listen…I know that I always had moments where I feel that I resented you, or being attached to you, or even knowing you. I'm also saying that, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the many years that I got you in trouble, I'm sorry for the way things have been, and I'm so terribly sorry for those mean, nasty, hurtful words of mine. You and I have been brothers and best friends since the day we were born. I hope that none of that changes, even though you're about to leave me"

Silence fell upon the room.

He continued, "I love you, Dog. I know you don't hear it often enough, and I'm not sure if you've ever heard me say it. But it's true, I love you. No matter what life threw at us, we were always able to stick together. Before you go, I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry, and that I love you."

Rancid walked slowly into the room, almost as if on cue. He softly put his hand on Cat's shoulder. He knew it was time for the operation, and one final time he looked up at Dog and muttered tearfully, "I love you buddy, goodbye".

Cat woke up hours later, with a very bad pain. He had been given donor legs, and was able to walk with help. He later walked into the room where Dog's lifeless body lay. He looked peaceful, and he was almost smiling, as if he were chasing a Garbage truck. Cat smiled gently at the scene, knowing that Dog wasn't suffering anymore. Tears filled his eyes, and Rancid and Winslow came in. Winslow looked at Dog and spoke to Cat, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you gonna be okay?"

Cat hesitated, "I don't think I'll ever be okay with this, Winslow."

"For what it's worth, you're definitely not nuts for doing this. You did the right thing, and remember that Dog always loved ya."

"Thanks, Winslow. That means a lot."

"So, what are we going to do with him?"

Cat pondered the question, and responded, "We'll bury him under the tree in the front, that was always his favorite spot to hang around when he went outside."

"Good choice, I'll go home and get the grave ready. Anything else you need?"

"No, I'm good for now; I just want to be alone for a while with him."

Cat had gotten what he somewhat wanted all of his life. He could live his own life. However, if he had known what price he would have to pay, he would have never even entertained the thought.


End file.
